Gmail: Priority Inbox Is Working

Back in August, when Google launched Priority Inbox for Gmail, we [praised](http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/priority-inbox-update-time-savings-new.html) it. And rightfully so. It took many of our nightmare inboxes and turned them into dreams. Well, okay, let’s not get crazy. But it did make them more manageable. And now Google has so stats to share to prove it.

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When [looking](http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/priority-inbox-update-time-savings-new.html) at the median numbers, Google has found that Gmail Priority Inbox users spend **43 percent more time** reading “important” emails versus “unimportant” ones. But even more impressive is the overall stat: Priority Inbox users spend ***15 percent less time*** reading email than Gmail users who don’t have it turned on. That’s actually pretty staggering.

Google also used their post on the matter tonight to showcase a small but interesting new feature. Now, if you hover over the “important” indicator on an email, Gmail will tell you why they think it’s important. It could be because of the people messaging you, or the content of the conversation, among other reasons. This transparency is helpful, for example, in showing exactly why Gmail keeps placing some spam email in my Priority Inbox.

Google also says that Priority Inbox should now respond faster to your manual corrections. Again, that should help with some poor categorization issues.